🇪🇸 Cross-border drive · Spain → Austria 🇦🇹
Driving from Valencia to Linz
Plan your Valencia to Linz road trip. Navigate Spain, France, Germany & Austria with key road info, border tips & highlights.
- Drive time
- 20h 44m
- Distance
- 1,963 km
- Same day?
- Split it
- 12 h+, plan a stop
- Fuel cost
- ≈ €276
- petrol · diesel ≈ €235
- Tolls
- ≈ €153
- mixed
- EV charging
- Unknown
- not yet surveyed
On this page
Route map
Route options
Other paths OSRM found between the two cities — handy when traffic, tolls, or scenery matter more than raw speed.
Avoids motorways
+11h 58m- Distance:
- 2,036 km (+73 km)
- Duration:
- 32h 43m
Via: N-340 · B 16 · B 311 · D 66
How else can you make this trip?
Driving is the focus of this guide; here's how cycling, coach, and (soon) train and plane stack up for the same pair.
20h 44m
1.963 km · €276 fuel
See details ↓
Not realistic
1.963 km is far beyond a typical multi-day cycle tour. Try a shorter pair like a day or weekend stage.
No direct service
Our coach data (FlixBus + BlaBlaCar) doesn't list a direct service for this pair. National operators (e.g., National Express in the UK, Eurolines feeders) may still cover it — check their site directly.
3h 17m
from €40
See details ↓
25h 36m
RENFE OPERADORA · SNCF VOYAGEURS
See details ↓
What the drive is like
Drafted from the route's computed data on April 24, 2026 and reviewed against the route summary card. Read our methodology.
You'll pick up the V-21 from Valencia, quickly merging onto the A-7 and then the AP-7 coastal motorway heading north. This Spanish stretch will take you along the Mediterranean for quite some time before the route begins to peel inland. Be aware that the AP-7 is a toll road in Spain, so budget accordingly. As you approach the French border, you'll transition onto the French autoroute system, primarily the A9 (Autoroute de la Côte d'Azur) which will eventually lead you towards the A7. The French autoroutes are also tolled and offer a well-maintained, high-speed experience. Watch for the significant price difference in fuel between Spain and France; it’s generally cheaper in Spain.
Continuing north through France, the route guides you towards Germany, where you'll join the German autobahn network. The specific autobahn numbers will vary depending on your exact path, but expect stretches of the A7 and potentially others as you make your way towards the Austrian border. Germany's autobahns are famously largely toll-free for passenger cars, but be mindful of varying speed limits and the potential for dense traffic, especially around major cities. Keep an eye out for environmental zones (Umweltzonen) in German cities, which may require a specific sticker to enter.
Upon crossing into Austria, the landscape will gradually shift towards the Alps. You will need to purchase a vignette for your vehicle to use Austrian motorways. These are mandatory and available at border crossings, petrol stations, and online. Unlike Germany, Austrian motorways are tolled via this vignette system. If you are travelling during winter months (typically November 1st to April 15th), be prepared for mandatory winter tyre regulations in Austria, especially if venturing into more mountainous regions. The final leg into Linz will involve Austrian expressways and motorways, completing this extensive cross-border journey from the Spanish coast to the Austrian heartland.
Route highlights
- Spanish Mediterranean coast (AP-7)
- French Riviera autoroutes (A9/A7)
- German Autobahn stretches
- Alpine scenery entering Austria
- Austrian vignette requirement
- Potential for winter tyre rules
Trip plan
How to think about the drive: one day, split, or overnight.
Overnight recommended
Too long for a single-driver day. Plan on 2 overnight stop(s) to do this trip right.
A natural overnight stop near the halfway point: Ecublens (ch).
- Distance:
- 1,963 km
- Duration:
- 20h 44m (free-flow, no traffic)
Where to stop
Places along the route that make natural breaks for coffee, lunch, or a night.
-
Vila-seca 🇪🇸 es
≈245 km≈ 3.1 km detour from the main route
-
Figueres 🇪🇸 es
≈491 km≈ 12.5 km detour from the main route
-
Marguerittes 🇫🇷 fr
≈736 km≈ 3.1 km detour from the main route
-
Rives 🇫🇷 fr
≈982 km≈ 12.1 km detour from the main route
-
Estavayer-le-Lac 🇨🇭 ch
≈1,227 km≈ 5.1 km detour from the main route
-
Gossau 🇨🇭 ch
≈1,472 km≈ 1.7 km detour from the main route
-
Oberschleißheim 🇩🇪 de
≈1,718 km≈ 2.9 km detour from the main route
Key moves
Things to know before you set off — borders, sides of the road, tolls.
Multi-country chain · ES → FR → CH → DE → AT
You'll cross 5 countries on this drive — each with its own toll system, fuel pricing, and motorway rules. Skim the must-know section below before you set off, and have your registration plus insurance card in the door pocket for any roadside check.
Tolls on motorways in ES / FR
Budget for motorway tolls — France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal charge per-km, Croatia and Greece by section. Contactless cards work almost everywhere; have one loaded.
Vignette required in CH / AT
Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Bulgaria, and Romania require a sticker or e-vignette for motorway use. Buy at the border — missing one is a heavy on-the-spot fine.
Long rural stretch on V-21 Avinguda de Catalunya
Plan for about 20 km of two-lane country roads. Slower than motorway, but often the pretty part — fewer overtakes after dark.
Long rural stretch on B148
Plan for about 15 km of two-lane country roads. Slower than motorway, but often the pretty part — fewer overtakes after dark.
Must-know before you go
The things a driver from another country wouldn't think to ask about — fines, stickers, payment cards, opening hours.
City access & emission zones
Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart need a green Umweltplakette
Must knowGermany's low-emission zones (Umweltzone) are simpler than the French system but stricter on entry. You need a colour-coded sticker physically on your windscreen before entering. The vast majority of zones today require a green sticker (Euro 4+ petrol, Euro 6+ diesel). Order via TÜV / DEKRA / certified workshops — about €6–13, ships in days. Driving without one costs €100 even if your car would qualify.
Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla now run ZBE low-emission zones
Must knowSpain's Zonas de Bajas Emisiones (ZBE) cover central Madrid (24/7), Barcelona inside the Rondes (weekdays 7:00–20:00), Sevilla, Valencia and a growing list. Foreign plates need to register at the city portal in advance — your Euro emission class determines whether you get in. Without registration, cameras log entry and the fine reaches your home address.
Order your Crit'Air sticker before the trip
Must knowParis, Lyon, Strasbourg, Marseille, Toulouse and a growing list of cities require a Crit'Air air-quality sticker visible on your windscreen — even for a single drive-through. It's €4.51 from the official site and ships by post (allow 2–6 weeks abroad). Without it, expect on-the-spot fines from €68. Your registration document tells the issuer your emission class.
Borders & documents
You're leaving the EU customs zone
Must knowSwitzerland is in Schengen but NOT in the EU customs union. Random customs stops happen at every border. Personal allowance: €300 in goods (CHF cash equivalent), 5L wine, 1L spirits. Above that you declare and pay duty. If you've loaded the boot with cured meat or cheese in Italy, declare it — confiscation is routine.
Tolls, vignettes & road payment
Digital vignette before crossing the border
Must knowAustrian motorways need a vignette — €10.10 for 10 days, €30.40 for 2 months, or €103.80 annual. The digital version (linked to your plate) is bought online at asfinag.at and activates from a chosen date — if you buy on the Austrian side of the border, it's only valid 18 days later under consumer-protection rules. Buy ahead.
Mont Blanc, Grand St Bernard, San Bernardino tunnels charge extra
Must knowThe vignette covers most motorways but NOT the major Alpine road tunnels. Mont Blanc tunnel (FR-IT) is roughly €54 one-way for a passenger car, Grand St Bernard about €33, San Bernardino is included in the vignette but Gotthard road tunnel is a vignette-only route in summer (the queue can be 2 hours; the rail-shuttle alternative through the Lötschberg is faster).
Vignette is annual only — CHF 40
Must knowSwitzerland sells one vignette: an annual sticker (or e-vignette) for CHF 40 / about €42. There's no 10-day option. Buy at any border post or online before you leave. The sticker must be physically affixed to the windscreen — keeping it loose in the glovebox earns the same CHF 200 fine as not having one.
You'll hit three different toll systems on this trip
Must knowThis route crosses countries with mismatched toll mechanics — France's ticket-and-pay, vignette stickers, electronic-only stretches. There's no single transponder that works everywhere, but a Telepass EU device covers FR/IT/ES/PT and a Bip&Go covers the same plus a few more. For a one-off trip, contactless cards plus a Swiss vignette and Austrian e-vignette is the simplest mix.
Brenner, Tauern and Karawanken tunnels are extra
UsefulEight Austrian routes charge separate tolls on top of the vignette: Brenner (A13, ~€11.50), Pyhrn (A9, ~€6.50), Tauern (A10, ~€14), Karawanken (A11, ~€8.50) and others. Pay at the booth — no vignette discount. If you're heading south to Italy via the A13, budget for it.
Contactless works at every autoroute booth
UsefulFrench autoroutes use a ticket system: take a card on entry, pay on exit. Every barrier accepts contactless tap-to-pay — pull into the "CB / bank card" lane (orange "t" logo means Liber-T transponder only, avoid those). For frequent EU travellers a Bip&Go transponder pays itself off in two trips by skipping the queue.
Most Spanish tolls were abolished in 2024
TipThe AP-1, AP-7 (Bilbao stretch) and most of the Mediterranean coast highways are now toll-free. A handful remain: AP-9 (Galicia), AP-66 (León–Asturias), Catalonia's C-32/C-16 tunnel approach. Spain is no longer a high-toll country for cars — your fuel + a few specific bridge fees is the realistic budget.
What your car must carry
Triangle, first-aid kit, hi-vis vest — all three
Must knowGermany requires a warning triangle, a first-aid kit (compliant with DIN 13164, with a "use by" date — €10 at any pharmacy), and a reflective vest in every passenger car. Roadside checks do happen at borders. The first-aid kit is the one foreign drivers most commonly miss.
Hi-vis vest in the cabin, triangle in the boot
Must knowA reflective vest must be reachable without leaving the vehicle (in the door pocket or under your seat — boot is too late). One warning triangle is also mandatory. The 2012 breathalyzer rule was scrapped in 2020 but is still nice to keep. No spare-bulb requirement.
Driving rules & habits
Left lane is for overtaking only — return immediately
UsefulOn unrestricted Autobahn sections (where you'll see no speed-limit-end signs), faster cars expect to use the left lane unobstructed. Drift into it without checking the mirror and a 911 closing at 250 km/h becomes your problem. Indicate, overtake, return right — every time. Slowing in the left lane to "make space" is more dangerous than predictable speed.
Rules, fees, and thresholds change. Always verify against the official source the day before you drive — this page is a checklist, not a legal reference.
Main roads
The highways this route spends the most kilometres on.
-
AP-7 Autopista de la Mediterrània / Autopista del Mediterráneo471 km
-
A1 West Autobahn355 km
-
A 9 La Catalane281 km
-
A 96 —163 km
-
A 7 Autoroute du Soleil93 km
-
A 94 —87 km
-
A 41 —71 km
-
A 49 —61 km
-
A8 Innkreis Autobahn50 km
-
A 43 —46 km
-
A 48 Autoroute du Dauphiné41 km
-
A 99 —37 km
Route character
How much of the drive is motorway vs. secondary vs. rural.
Motorway drive — fast, predictable, uneventful.
- Motorway
- 94%
- Secondary
- 4%
- Other / rural
- 2%
Drive difficulty
At-a-glance feel: how demanding is this drive for one driver?
Overall
Demanding
Tough drive — multiple complicating factors compound fatigue. Strongly recommend splitting across days.
- Long drive: 20h 44m behind the wheel at free-flow speeds.
- Cross-border: ES → AT. Keep documents accessible and check border rules.
Fuel & tolls
Rough cost expectation for a typical EU passenger car. Treat as an estimate — pump prices change weekly.
Petrol (RON 95)
≈ €276
147.2 L × €1.87 / L · 7.5 L/100 km
Diesel
≈ €235
117.8 L × €1.99 / L · 6 L/100 km
Electric (DC fast)
≈ €210
344 kWh × €0.61 / kWh · 17.5 kWh/100 km
Public DC fast charging — slower AC charging at home or hotels typically costs about half.
Motorway tolls & vignettes
≈ €153
- ES — €0.09/km on the motorway network (≈ 478 km in-country ≈ €43) Toll-free on the A-network; charged only on AP roads.
- FR — €0.10/km on the motorway network (≈ 579 km in-country ≈ €58)
- CH — Vignette (motorway sticker / e-vignette) — €42.00 for 365 days
- AT — Vignette (motorway sticker / e-vignette) — €10.10 for 10 days Annual vignette is €103.80 if you drive often
Prices last refreshed 2026-05-04.
Weather by month
Average daytime high / overnight low and typical monthly rainfall, over the past five years.
🇪🇸 Valencia
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
17°
8°
|
17°
8°
|
20°
10°
|
22°
12°
|
24°
15°
|
28°
20°
|
31°
23°
|
32°
23°
|
27°
20°
|
25°
17°
|
21°
12°
|
17°
8°
|
| 14mm | 23mm | 62mm | 10mm | 35mm | 15mm | 17mm | 19mm | 105mm | 114mm | 44mm | 45mm |
hot mild cold
🇦🇹 Linz
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
5°
-2°
|
8°
1°
|
13°
3°
|
16°
6°
|
20°
10°
|
26°
15°
|
27°
17°
|
27°
16°
|
23°
13°
|
16°
8°
|
8°
2°
|
5°
-0°
|
| 46mm | 43mm | 62mm | 77mm | 92mm | 58mm | 83mm | 80mm | 105mm | 52mm | 75mm | 67mm |
hot mild cold
Next 5 days at Linz
Live forecast — refreshes every few hours.
-
Tue 12
☀️
7° / 5°
—
-
Wed 13
⛅
15° / 3°
0.8mm
-
Thu 14
🌧️
10° / 7°
75.6mm
-
Fri 15
⛅
14° / 7°
5.5mm
-
Sat 16
🌧️
14° / 8°
8.7mm
Forecast: MET Norway
Directions
Turn-by-turn summary of the main manoeuvres, generated by OSRM.
Show all 62 manoeuvres
- Plaça de la Ciutat de Bruges 0.1 km
- Avinguda d'Aragó 0.2 km
- Avinguda de Catalunya (V-21)
- Avinguda de Catalunya (V-21) 20 km
- Autovia de la Mediterrània (A-7) 8 km
- Autopista de la Mediterrània / Autopista del Mediterráneo (AP-7) 308 km
- Autopista de la Mediterrània (AP-7) 163 km
- La Catalane (A 9) 52 km
- La Languedocienne (A 9) 120 km
- La Languedocienne (A 9) 109 km
- Autoroute du Soleil (A 7) 93 km
- — 0.1 km
- (N 7) 10 km
- (N 532) 11 km
- (A 49) 61 km
- Autoroute du Dauphiné (A 48) 41 km
- — 0.4 km
- (A 43) 46 km
- (A 41) 51 km
- (A 41) 20 km
- — 0.3 km
- (A1) 40 km
- (A1) 26 km
- (A1) 25 km
- (A1) 125 km
- (A1) 9 km
- (A1) 35 km
- (A1; A3) 13 km
- (A1; A3) 0.3 km
- (A1) 12 km
- (A1; A4) 0.5 km
- (A1; A4) 28 km
- (A1) 57 km
- (A1) 21 km
- Zollstrasse (435)
- Dornbirner Straße (L204)
- Dornbirner Straße (L204)
- Dornbirner Straße (L204)
- Lustenauerstraße (L204)
- Rheintal/Walgau Autobahn (A14) 18 km
- (A 96) 163 km
- (A 99) 37 km
- — 0.4 km
- — 0.5 km
- — 0.5 km
- (A 94) 87 km
- (B 12) 14 km
- (B148)
- (B148)
- (B148) 13 km
- Altheimer Straße (B148)
- Altheimer Straße (B148) 4 km
- (B148)
- (B148)
- (B148) 15 km
- Innkreis Autobahn (A8) 50 km
- Welser Autobahn (A25) 19 km
- Welser Autobahn (A25) 2 km
- West Autobahn (A1) 5 km
- Mühlkreis Autobahn (A7) 5 km
- — 0.2 km
- Hauptplatz
By plane from Valencia to Linz
Indicative travel time on a non-stop flight, based on great-circle distance, average commercial cruise speed (850 km/h), and a 90-minute allowance for taxi, security, and boarding.
- Total time
- 3h 17m
- Door-to-door from :from airport.
- In the air
- 108 min
- At ~850 km/h cruise speed.
- On the ground
- 90 min
- Taxi + security + boarding (typical short-haul).
- Route
- VLC → LNZ
- 1.527 km great-circle.
Indicative fare: from €40 — fares vary by season, day of week, and how far ahead you book. Always check the airline or a meta-search before planning around this number.
Show flight path on map
Estimate-only. We don't pull live schedules or fares for flights — see the methodology page for how this number is computed.
Air travel emits roughly 5–10× the CO₂ per passenger-km of rail for the same distance.
By train from Valencia to Linz
Fastest cross-border rail itinerary from the public Transitous planner. Times reflect a typical Monday-morning departure on the next available service-day.
- Fastest journey
- 25h 36m
- 8 changes
- Lead operator
- RENFE OPERADORA
- + 7 more
- Alternatives
- 7
- Itineraries returned by the planner.
Trains on the fastest itinerary
- EUROMED 01112
- AVE INT 09725
- 041G
- RE1 (19003)
All operators across alternatives
- RENFE OPERADORA
- SNCF VOYAGEURS
- Arverio Baden-Württemberg GmbH
- DB Fernverkehr AG
- WESTbahn Management GmbH
- Schweizerische Bundesbahnen SBB
- Schweizerische Bundesbahnen
- Deutsche Bahn AG
Includes a high-speed rail leg (TGV, ICE, AVE, Frecciarossa-class).
Show route on map
Routing via the public Transitous OTP planner (community-run MOTIS instance). Cached 24 hours; verify on the operator's site before booking.
Frequently asked
What are the main toll systems encountered on this route?
You'll encounter toll roads in Spain (AP-7) and France (A9, A7). Austria uses a vignette system for its motorways, which you must purchase before or upon entering the country.
Are there any country-specific driving regulations I need to be aware of?
Yes. Spain and France have tolls and varying speed limits. Germany has mostly toll-free autobahns but environmental zones in cities. Austria requires a vignette and has mandatory winter tyre regulations during certain months.
Where can I buy the Austrian vignette?
You can purchase the Austrian vignette online in advance, at border crossings, or at petrol stations near the border and in Austria.
How does fuel pricing typically compare across these countries?
Fuel is generally cheapest in Spain, increasing through France and Germany, and often highest in Austria, though this can fluctuate.
Do I need a special sticker for German cities?
Yes, many German cities have environmental zones (Umweltzonen) that require a specific sticker (Umweltplakette) to enter. Check the requirements for any cities you plan to drive through.
How this page is built
Compiled by COD Solutions Oy from open European data — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for the route geometry, Open-Meteo for monthly climate normals, EU Weekly Oil Bulletin for cross-border fuel-price bands, and Google Gemini drafts the narrative and FAQ from the computed route data. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.